Accessed through the Helin Catalog through the URI website: All Work and No Play?. The Science Teacherv. 76 no. 4 (April/May 2009)p. 16
I chose this article because there is a lot of controversy surrounding preschool and kindergarten these days, whether unstructured play-time or traditional classroom teaching is better during this age. The article discusses and describes the new trend of "baby Einsteins" and trying to get babies to read at a very young age. Most people believe it is a just another money making scheme and that "bombarding them with information is well-intended but ultimately unproductive." The author describes that playtime "is where children discover ideas, experiences, and concepts, and think about them and their consequences. This is where literacy and learning really begin" This article discusses the importance of unstructured play time where children can explore their world, make sense of it, imagine, problem solve, and be social with their peers. These are all important skills that we use everyday, throughout the rest of our lives. The article says that at this stage in development, playtime is crucial to the intellectual development of children.
I think that although this article is addressing the early childhood stage, there is something to be learned here about adolescence. The article states, "Children learn the way we all learn: through engagement and through construction." As a high school teacher, this quote is something that I can take from this article. I think that, especially for science, students will learn more through engagement and construction. This type of learning includes inquiry, hands on activities, and labs. Students will learn more when they are using their imagination and curiosity, to discover something, then if they just took notes or read about a topic. I need to keep this in mind when designing lesson plans because although giving notes on a topic is much easier, it is far less effective than the students engaging and constructing their own understanding of a topic.
Dania Schnell
Accessed through the Helin Catalog through the URI website:
All Work and No Play?. The Science Teacher v. 76 no. 4 (April/May 2009) p. 16
I chose this article because there is a lot of controversy surrounding preschool and kindergarten these days, whether unstructured play-time or traditional classroom teaching is better during this age. The article discusses and describes the new trend of "baby Einsteins" and trying to get babies to read at a very young age. Most people believe it is a just another money making scheme and that "bombarding them with information is well-intended but ultimately unproductive." The author describes that playtime "is where children discover ideas, experiences, and concepts, and think about them and their consequences. This is where literacy and learning really begin" This article discusses the importance of unstructured play time where children can explore their world, make sense of it, imagine, problem solve, and be social with their peers. These are all important skills that we use everyday, throughout the rest of our lives. The article says that at this stage in development, playtime is crucial to the intellectual development of children.
I think that although this article is addressing the early childhood stage, there is something to be learned here about adolescence. The article states, "Children learn the way we all learn: through engagement and through construction." As a high school teacher, this quote is something that I can take from this article. I think that, especially for science, students will learn more through engagement and construction. This type of learning includes inquiry, hands on activities, and labs. Students will learn more when they are using their imagination and curiosity, to discover something, then if they just took notes or read about a topic. I need to keep this in mind when designing lesson plans because although giving notes on a topic is much easier, it is far less effective than the students engaging and constructing their own understanding of a topic.